Back with a bang after my holiday in England, despite the effects of a combined assault from the common cold and jetlag, clocking up a rare sub-30, if only by the narrowest margin, but with … Read more “Times 25359 – Where’s Patrick Moore when you need him?”
Month: December 2012
Mephisto 2730 by Don Manley – ‘e baint be ‘ard
A very straightforward puzzle that left me plenty of time to concentrate upon AZED’s Christmas Special. Now we be farmin’…. Across 1 MICROBUS – buggy type=microbe then change E=English to US=American; iconic Volkswagen Type 2 … Read more “Mephisto 2730 by Don Manley – ‘e baint be ‘ard”
Jumbo 1011 – I know todays is 1014, but this was only two weeks ago, honest!
Standard fare, with a few unknown words or ideas thrown in along the way. Fell into the trap at 49D of confidently writing in BRASS with no checkers in place and then puzzled a bit … Read more “Jumbo 1011 – I know todays is 1014, but this was only two weeks ago, honest!”
Saturday Times 25353 (22nd Dec)
Solving time 15:31, very slow to get started (I think 23ac was the first one in), but built upwards from there and soon had it done. Nothing too tricky apart from the wordplay to 9ac. … Read more “Saturday Times 25353 (22nd Dec)”
Club Monthly 20147 December 2012 – Homage to Jack Vance
Solving Time: About 45 minutes in two sessions, so definitely on the easier side, as the Crossword Club statistics seem to confirm (66 correct answers at time of writing) – but still no pushover! Unless … Read more “Club Monthly 20147 December 2012 – Homage to Jack Vance”
Times 25357 – Nuts and Bolts
I thought this was going to be an easy one as I raced away with the long anagrams at 4 and 11 and the partial one at 12 but my confidence was soon dented and … Read more “Times 25357 – Nuts and Bolts”
Times 25,356 – The Flying Dutchman
After my morning run to shed some extra baggage picked up in the last few days of wining and dining, this puzzle seemed rather tame… no real problems. I am trying to see whether I … Read more “Times 25,356 – The Flying Dutchman”
Vintage Olympic Crossword 5734 – originally published 29 July 1948
Solving time: 17:49, but with one wrong. I’d have done better to solve this before the other Olympic puzzles while I was still fresh. But I tackled them in reverse order, and was so tired … Read more “Vintage Olympic Crossword 5734 – originally published 29 July 1948”
Times Crossword 21,522 26 Dec 2012 – remembering the Sydney Olympics
Solving Time: About 25 minutes, but the last five spent on 20dn. This is one of the four “Vintage Olympic cryptic puzzles” printed on the Crossword Club website today, and my second blog of the … Read more “Times Crossword 21,522 26 Dec 2012 – remembering the Sydney Olympics”
Vintage Olympic Crossword 17801 – originally October 15th 1988
Solving time 13:44, still surprisingly loose by today’s standards but a bit better than the 1964 one. I probably solved this first time round. In 1988 I’d just started working for Ladbrokes as a betting-shop … Read more “Vintage Olympic Crossword 17801 – originally October 15th 1988”